Yonex VCORE 2026 Review

I have been testing these racquets with a couple of friends for a while and here is our Yonex VCORE 2026 Review. We have not yet tried the VCORE 95, though.

This is what is new in the Yonex VCORE 2026 according to Yonex. You can read a bit more in our Yonex VCORE 2026 post.

What is new

You always have to take marketing lingo with a pinch of salt, but this is what Yonex intended to improve.

• Larger sweet spot thanks to updated ISOMETRIC® shape and reshaped upper frame.
• Enhanced grommet design for greater string movement and stronger snapback.
• Refined aerodynamics, reducing air resistance for quicker swing speeds.
• Yonex’s latest carbon tech throughout the frame and shaft to balance stability, power, and feel.

…or simply get it from Amazon here!

Who will use the new VCOREs on the pro tour?

This is what Yonex states in their press release on their official website about who will use the new VCORE 2026 racquets on the highest level.

The VCORE racquets are trusted by top professional players around the world. Among those scheduled to use the new series are Tommy Paul (USA), World No. 20*, Elena Rybakina (KAZ), No. 5* and 2025 WTA Finals champion, and Jasmine Paolini (ITA), Doubles No. 3 and 2025 French Open champion. Working closely with these athletes, Yonex has designed the VCORE to deliver high spin performance while accommodating all swing types and levels of power.

Yonex VCORE 2026 racquets

We have so far tried four of the Yonex VCORE 2026 racquets for this review. The VCORE 98, 98 Tour, 100 and 100D. What has stood out overall is a more solid feel. They have definitely improved overall stability and control. The racquets are less lively, which some might dislike, but I think most people will enjoy. Our biggest issue with the 2023 VCORE racquets was that the flex paired with the lively string bed, made the racquets difficult to control at times. The feel was also more muted with the predecessor than the 2026 VCOREs. So we do believe that this is a positive update, both in terms of cosmetics (glossy always wins!) and playability.

Let’s go through the various models and talk about how they play.

Yonex VCORE 100

The Yonex VCORE 100 is the most powerful and forgiving racquet of the four. We also received a VCORE 100L to demo, but that one will be the same as this, just lighter with a lower swing weight and different balance. The new VCORE 100 has a higher swing weight than the 2023 edition. Besides that it feels more stable overall and less launchy, meaning it is easier to control the ball.

The VCORE 100 is more solid and dependable than the predecessor, but is not quite as comfortable and whippy. Still, not a harsh racquet. The Aero 2026 feels a little easier to use to me and faster through the air. I find the head shape of the VCOREs to be kind of difficult to vibe with. They feel a bit slow to swing. The VCORE 100 is a good racquet, but it won’t be the best spin racquet for me in the 100 sq inch category. We still prefer it over 2023, but is it better than 2021? Tough to say.

We will try it more and update this review.

This review was pretty interesting from the TW Product page.

After testing this racquet for a week, I’m not sure if it is the string or not. But the racquet felt “off.” If I were a 3.0 or 3.5 I might blame it on technique. Serving was average, no more power than the V7. The spin was a little better on serves. Groundstrokes were a concern on both forehand and backhand (dhb). Hard to zone in on the sweet spot. Difficult to get volleys deep, Control was a big issue without a lot of spin.

One interesting point, on the previous models, the butt cap always said “Japan” these models do not have it on the butt caps. Are they now made outside of Japan? T/W said it was 4 pts headlight. This racquet was even balanced. The swing weight was reported at 325, the demo I had was 331. I’m a 4.5 tournament player. In my opinion the V 7 model is better.

Jcu – UT, United StatesDecember 24, 2025

Specifications according to Tennis Warehouse

Yonex VCORE 100D

The 100D is the new model in the line-up. It has a 16/20 string pattern and 5 grams more weight over the 100. For players that love the Percept 100D, this racquet will be interesting. It’s not quite as spin-oriented, but more controlled and with a slightly lower launch angle than the VCORE 100. Most reviewers, including Team Tennisnerd, believe this racquet to be the most interesting model in the line-up thanks to offering a good balance between spin, power and control.

It’s good to know that the extra cross string and five grams of weight will give this racquet a higher swing weight than the 100. Nothing crazy, but a tad more beefiness, which will improve stability but also make it a little heavier to swing.

We thought this racquet offered excellent playability and it was our favorite among the 2026 VCORE racquets.

Yonex VCORE 98

This is perhaps the most popular VCORE racquet as it gives the player a little more control than the 100s. Also, controlled spin-racquets are becoming very popular on the pro tour and club players are following suit with the likes of Aero 98, the new Wilson Spin racquet and so forth. I liked the previous VCORE 98 the most from that line-up, but here it felt a little more metallic and brassy in feel and lacked a little of the plushness of the 2023 version.

I know the marketing says the sweet spot is expanded, but here I almost felt like it was a bit smaller. It felt like quite a demanding racquet and less explosive than the Aero 98 (including the new one, which we will review in a couple of weeks). While the 100 VCOREs felt like a step in the right direction, this was perhaps a step in the wrong one, at least if you ask team Tennisnerd.

Still, we need more time to test various string setups and customizations before we have a final verdict. But this was not love at first hit.

We have tried the racquets with Yonex PolyTour Drive 1.25 and PolyTour Pro 1.25 at various tensions.

Yonex VCORE 98 Tour

The Tour version impressed us quite a bit in the 2023 version and became our favorite racquet. Two of my regular hitting partners switched to the 2023 VCORE Tour after testing it. It was a pretty manageable racquet despite the increased weight and swing weight over the regular version.

The 2026 VCORE 98 Tour takes beefiness to the next level. The unstrung weight of 315 grams is one of the heavier racquets on the market these days and the racquet also has some weight in the hoop. I measured my review sample at 307 unstrung swing weight, which makes it heavier than what a lot of pros play.

And you felt it on court. The extra weight and swing weight made it difficult to whip the racquet and generate more top spin. But when you connected well on a flat shot, the ball had an annoying heaviness to it for the opponent. However, it did not play quite like a spin racquet. It was more like a racquet that flat old school hitters with good mechanics and footwork could use to finish points within four shots.

It reminded me more of the Percept 97H than something else on the market. A heavy and quite powerful racquet which I am sure the right player will love, but that demographic will be pretty small.

You need to be a high-level player to enjoy this one, but if you like a hefty frame and want weight behind your shots, you should check out the VCORE 98 Tour 2026.

Not for the faint of swing.

Summary

Again, you got to give Yonex credit for not playing it safe with their updates. New mold, new tech, even a new model in the line-up.

However, not every racquet felt like a home-run compared to predecessors and competitors. Overall, they were all more solid and created more penetrating shots. However, the whippiness and flexible feel from the 2023 is not there anymore. While those racquets could be a little wild, they were also relatively easy to use. The 2026 update is more demanding from the players, but rewarding in the sense of stability and plow-through.

The VCORE 100D was a nice addition to the line, although I have heard that some players would have preferred a VCORE 98D with a 16/20 pattern. Who knows if this will arrive at a later date. I did not personally feel like the 98 needed more control, rather I would have rather requested a larger sweet spot as the racquet felt a little unforgiving at times.

I liked the racquets, but I did not love them as much as I hoped I would. The same can be said for the other play-testers. We will give them more time as these are our first impressions, but although we can see the improvements from 2023, for some models they might have taken it a little too far. The 100 and 100D are our current favorites, while the 98 and 98 Tour felt quite demanding. We have yet to try the VCORE 95 as we were not sent a demo of that one yet.

A nice update, but not really the wow-factor we were hoping for.

Let me know what you think of the new Yonex VCOREs in the comments!

Check also our tips for new, interesting racquets of 2026.